Protect Baby Turtles in Mexico

Help baby Olive Ridley, Leatherback, and Black Turtles in Mexico safely begin a new life in the ocean!

Turtles are known for their hard shells, yet baby turtles are extremely vulnerable to harm. Dogs, raccoons, and other scavengers kill many baby turtles, both before hatching and in the moments between hatching and crawling to the ocean. Some baby turtles get confused and crawl the wrong way, become entangled in garbage and starve, are eaten by hungry seabirds, or are poached by unscrupulous people who turn them into trinkets for tourists.

La Tortuga Viva ("Living Turtle" in Spanish) is a turtle sanctuary in Juluchuca, Guerrero, Mexico. La Tortuga Viva locates turtle nesting sites and transfers the laid eggs to sand-filled barrels. The eggs are brought back to a fenced-in area where they are buried at the right depth, shaded and near fresh water to keep the eggs at the right temperature. Each nest is marked with the location it was found, the date, number of eggs and date expected to hatch. Hatchlings are taken back to the location they were laid and released in the pre-dawn hours to reduce the threat from birds and other predators. By preventing predation of eggs and hatchling turtles, the number of baby sea turtles is greatly increased, helping in population recovery.

Since 2010, La Tortuga Viva has released over 300,000 baby turtles: mostly Olive Ridley turtles (Golfina), as well as Black Turtles and Leatherback turtles, which are considered critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. With your support, they will be able to rescue thousands more baby turtles from harm, enriching and strengthening the marine environment for all.

You can help. This Gift That Gives More™ helps 100 baby turtles in Mexico hatch and make it safely to their new life in the ocean.

The Ocean Foundation's mission is to support, strengthen, and promote those organizations dedicated to reversing the trend of destruction of ocean environments around the world. The Ocean Foundation will pass donations from this Gift That Gives More™ to La Tortuga Viva, a group of volunteers in Juluchuca, Guerrero, Mexico, who have been trained by the Mexican Government department of protection of species (PROFEPA). The Ocean Foundation conducts due diligence on promising marine projects to support conservation work in a fashion that is strategic and coordinated.

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